The fintech-driven retail institution is the brainchild of Singh, who was until last year co-head of Deutsche Bank’s Asia Pacific corporate banking and securities business. Singh, who was hired by Jain 15 years ago, quit Deutsche Bank last year soon after Jain’s exit.

The partners have taken on board Prashant Bhonsle, the former country head of education loan provider Credila, which was acquired by HDFC last year. Pai is the scion of the Manipal family, which has set up a billion-dollar education and healthcare business.

“Fintech has been a force for massive change in the traditional financial services value chain. From Aadhaar to e-KYC norms to digital signature to the recent launch of UPI interface, the government is providing the financial sector with the tools to automate services, leading to faster execution and a better customer service experience,” said Singh. “Financial inclusion plays a critical role in furthering a country’s economic and human development aspirations.

NBFCs can work together with banks to further the empowerment of the Indian middle and lower middle class when it comes to the ability to access personal financing at competitive rates.

According to Singh, the ecosystem that is in place includes eKYC, Aadhaar, the eMudra digital signature initiative and Unified Payment Interface. “While over two thirds of the existing education loan market in India is secured in nature, I see a significant opportunity in unsecured lending, particularly for those of our students that are heading to top universities overseas,” said Singh.

At present, most lenders insist on a security while advancing loans for students moving overseas for studies. This is because the loan is large (above Rs 4 lakh) and the possibility that the borrower might settle abroad. The security in such cases is usually the parent’s house which is mortgaged to the bank. Incidentally, InCred’s education loan is similar to the model adopted by Softbank-funded US fintech startup Sofi (social finance) where Jain is an adviser.

InCred plans to tie up with top-notch institutions in the West, where placements are more certain and extend unsecured loans to meritorious. The key to success in loan recovery was remaining connected to the customer digitally even after he moved abroad.

For mortgages and SME loans the company would focus on digital leads and use the existing direct selling agent network. To start with the company will launch in ten cities which will include the metros. It would rely on internet and direct selling agents for leads. For personal loans the company would deploy straight-through processing software which will access the borrower’s credit history in an instant and sanction the loan.